Fairleigh Dickinson University’s 2003 Academic Convocation — held September 24 on the Metropolitan Campus — featured the presentation of the Distinguished Faculty Awards, recognition of the Pillars of FDU, and the awarding of the Presidential and University Citations.

The annual event, which officially commemorates the new academic year, also welcomed new faculty to the University and featured a keynote address by Vladimir Zwass, computer science/management information systems (Metro), on “Spinning the World Wide Web: A Global Village or Virtual Archipelago?”

The 2003 Distinguished Faculty Award winners were: Roger Koppl, economics/finance (Flor), Distinguished Faculty Award for Research and Scholarship; Albert Schielke, associate dean, University College (Metro), Distinguished Faculty Award for Service; and Alfredo Tan, director, computer sciences/engineering (Metro), Distinguished Faculty Award for Teaching. The Distinguished Faculty Award recipients are selected by their peers.

President J. Michael Adams also awarded Presidential Citations to Eileen Hamme, director, international student services (Metro), and Thomas Shea, University director, international/graduate admissions (Metro). These honors are given to faculty, staff or administrators who have “successfully initiated an innovative program or process — a program that upholds the academic excellence we hold in such high regard and one that provides students with new opportunities to achieve a global education.”

Also, University Citations, a newly created award, were presented to Anthony Adrignolo, engineering technology, and director, graduate and preprofessional advising (Metro); and Michael Goodman, English, and director, Corporate Communication Institute (Flor), for their commitment to “Servant-Leadership within the Fairleigh Dickinson University community.”

In addition, the annual presentation of the Pillars of Fairleigh Dickinson University Awards took place. These honor nonfaculty members who have made “extraordinary contributions to the character and quality” of the University. The 2003 Pillars were: Valerie Adams, assistant director, career management (Flor); Ann De Meskey, assistant director, human resources(Metro); Kathryn Douglas, director, Freshman Intensive Studies (Flor); and David Miles, director, public safety (Metro).

Keynote Address

Zwass’ address focused on the potential impact of the tremendous growth of the Internet and the World Wide Web, which, he said, are “growing organically, without a central control, and with the speed unprecedented for an artifact in human history.”

Vladimir Zwass

The potential exists for this technology to bring the world together, he added. “With global connectivity and global knowledge, surely a global village would emerge … this virtual village should emerge on the Web, linking people around the globe.”

But, Zwass was quick to point out, this global Web community is just one possibility. At its other extreme, this technology can produce pockets of isolation and people who form their own “little islands” and communities of exclusion; in short, a “virtual archipelago of islands, each an on-line community with its own evolving meaning and rhetoric.”

Zwass added that it is helpful to think of the Web as a network of relationships, “The Web offers a unique forum of potential mass assembly, a unique means of spontaneous mobilization of people located anywhere in the world.”

He concluded, “A medium, a forum, a marketplace, a network of relationships: the Web/Internet combine enables us to find one another, establish relationships and benefit from them over time — all in the context of the very real and tangible world. Whether we make it into a global village, or whether we fracture it into islands, is really up to us.”

The complete text of Zwass’ address is available online at <http://www.fdu.edu/newspubs/030924zwass.html>.

Distinguished Faculty

Faculty honored with Distinguished Faculty Awards at the Academic Convocation were, from left, Alfredo Tan (Metro), teaching; Albert Schielke (Metro), service; and Robert Koppl (Flor), research and scholarship. President J. Michael Adams, right, presented the awards.

Roger Koppl (Research and Scholarship)

Roger Koppl is a scholar well respected by his peers. His citation quoted the praise of a fellow researcher, “Professor Roger Koppl is one of the most original scholars in the field of market process theory and the history of economic thought.”

Koppl joined Fairleigh Dickinson in 1988 and has taught such courses as Financial Markets and Institutions and the History of Economic Thought. A theorist and a philosopher, his research and publications rise from the Austrian school of economics. Until recently, most of his scholarship focused on the problem of expectations in economics and the pursuit of a general theory of expectations to better understand human behavior in anticipation of economic change. This work culminated in the publication of his book, Big Players and the Economic Theory of Expectations.

He also has co-edited the book Subjectivism and Economic Analysis: Essays in Memory of Ludwig Lachmann, and is the editor of the research annual Advances in Austrian Economics. In addition, he has contributed chapters to numerous books, as well as book reviews and articles to high-ranking journals such as the Review of Political Economy and the Journal of Economic Perspectives.

Koppl has forged an international reputation, teaching abroad at the Copenhagen Business School, as well as presenting his studies to international audiences.

More recently, his focus has shifted to problems in police forensics, a subject his is now studying as a visiting scholar at George Mason University in Virginia. Using structured competition, he hopes to improve the science used in police forensic labs.

Albert Schielke (Service)

A graduate of Fairleigh Dickinson University. BS’65, MS’67 (Metro), Schielke began teaching physics and astronomy at his alma mater in the 1960s. In fact, he wrote the lab manual for astronomy that is still used today.

Schielke later became the executive associate dean at Edward Williams College, then an assistant vice president in the Office of Academic Affairs. In 1997, he became the associate dean of University College.

His immense contributions have ranged from orienting students to training faculty, from reviewing schedules to developing programs, and from directing study-abroad efforts and acting as stateside coordinator of Wroxton College to linking FDU with international institutions.

He has also served leadership roles in a long and impressive list of committees. For example, he has served as the chair of the Institutional Academic Planning Study Group for the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (MSA) and co-chair of the MSA Institutional Self-Study.

Further, Schielke has been active in the Council of Deans, Campus Council and the Campus Standards Committee. In addition, he has served on numerous department-level advisory boards.

His citation added, “The ultimate beneficiaries of your uncommon selflessness have been the students. You have always been ready to apply your creative problem-solving skills on behalf of a student in need. But all of us have benefited greatly from your insight and integrity. One colleague summed up what so many of us feel, ‘Every time I need guidance and help, Prof. Schielke is the first person I approach.’”

Alfredo Tan (Teaching)

Alfredo Tan was honored “for epitomizing the finest qualities of an educator and for providing your students with the foundation for greatness,” his citation declared. “Your concern for your students is only matched by your command of complex subjects and your skillful translations of intricate concepts to readily understandable components.”

Since joining FDU 15 years ago, Tan has received from his students numerous high evaluations and widespread praise. In one student’s words, he is a “teaching machine without an off-switch.”

Tan has taught across a wide spectrum of electrical engineering courses, including 12 graduate and 18 undergraduate courses. He also has created numerous new courses on both levels and led the development of the online master of science in electrical engineering program, the first degree program at FDU that can be completed entirely over the Internet.

In addition, his research in the areas of image enhancement/compression and adaptive digital signal processing has resulted in 18 technical publications including three papers in the prestigious IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems.

Since 1996, he has served as director of the School of Engineering and Engineering Technology. Under his leadership, the school has successfully obtained reaccreditation for all five undergraduate engineering and engineering technology programs. And U.S. News &World Report recently ranked FDU’s engineering program among the top 50 undergraduate engineering programs. Recently, Tan took the role of director of a new school, the School of Computer Sciences and Engineering.

Pillars of FDU

Valerie Adams

As her citation noted, Valerie Adams’ “career counseling and placement efforts have made all the difference for so many students who have been warmly comforted by [her] caring and open manner, and who have been wisely directed by [her] exceptional intelligence and impeccable judgment.”

Since joining Fairleigh Dickinson University 12 years ago, she has contributed to many career-management efforts, including implementing a comprehensive career-placement program and record system; organizing Career Fairs, Major Days and on-campus recruiting events; and building a vast network of employee contacts. Highly regarded by the entire community, she has served in a leadership role for many committees and groups, and is currently president of the Professional Administrative Senate (PAS).

Ann De Meskey

A dedicated employee for more than 35 years who started at the University’s original campus in Rutherford, Ann De Meskey has guided countless employees through their professional careers. Her citation read, “Few at FDU are unfamiliar with your heartfelt sensitivity, your gracious courtesy and your overwhelming kindness.” Such traits have been combined with a thorough knowledge of and adherence to the University’s policies, procedures and programs.

De Meskey’s citation further praised her for playing a large role in “fostering that tremendous sense of community we all cherish.” De Meskey is particularly well known for promoting the benefits of the employee tuition grant program. She also has volunteered as a guest lecturer for various classes on campus.

Kathryn Douglas

In 1987, Kathryn Douglas came to Fairleigh Dickinson to head the fledgling Freshman Intensive Studies program, a selective interdisciplinary program that helps freshmen make the transition to college. Her citation stated, “Driven by an impressive work ethic, balanced by a stellar intellect and remarkable depth of feeling, you have ensured that students from widely different backgrounds have the tools needed to excel.” The program has enjoyed great success and has tripled in size.

Also a faculty member, Douglas teaches literature and is active on many committees, including the Literary Studies Committee. She also led the development of, and now directs, a minor in children’s studies.

David Miles

David Miles joined the University in 1980 and has served on every safety task force dealing with social policies and parking since 1984. Under his leadership, the Metropolitan Campus is one of the safest in New Jersey. His citation described him as follows: “You react to each emergency with reassuring calmness and unflinching determination.”

Miles is well known for innovative public safety programs and for his emphasis on preventive measures. The many programs he has initiated include a computerized guard-tour system, a camera-security system, the installation of emergency telephones and a Crime Information Hotline. He also wrote emergency protocols for the campus and assisted in developing a threat-assessment team. In addition, he created and runs the Committee on Personal Safety.

Presidential Citation Recipients

Eileen Hamme

Following September 11, 2001, Eileen Hamme — as director of international student services — was chiefly responsible for implementing the new, rigorous and complex Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) regulations that govern international students. As Adams noted, there was little time for the project, the new systems were fallible and the information the INS had about FDU was out-of-date. But, he said, Hamme navigated the labyrinth of the INS bureaucracy, “kept the pressure on, and you ultimately prevailed.” Fairleigh Dickinson University received the requisite authorizations from the INS to admit international students.

Adams added, “The information you consistently and repeatedly provided, the leads you developed and the pressure points you correctly identified and assessed within the INS and its independent contractors, enabled those working in Washington on our behalf to achieve a solution, not only for our University, but for all those American institutions serving international students from around the world.”

Thomas Shea

As FDU’s University director of international and graduate admissions, Thomas Shea has “established policies and procedures based on a philosophy of appreciation for the rich diversity of international students and an understanding of best practices for recruiting them,” Adams said. Among other accomplishments, he has renewed and established a network of contacts in U.S. Consulates around the world.

Following the attacks of September 11, 2001, and new INS requirements, Shea and his staff worked diligently to maintain recruitment efforts and help students comply with all regulations. Adams said, “You played a critically important role in our achieving INS authorization. Your understanding of the global recruitment process, your appreciation of the plight of international students seeking an FDU educational opportunity in this new and demanding environment, as well as your creative agility to adjust to the demands of the INS, have positioned the University to fulfill a dynamic component of its mission.”

University Citation Recipients

Anthony Adrignolo/Michael Goodman

These two individuals, President Adams said, “over the landscape of their years at Fairleigh Dickinson University, and most recently in their roles as campus speakers, have distinguished themselves as both a servant and leader within our community.

Adams noted that, “The balance between serving and leading is always a challenge. Serving and leading within the unique, rare environment we call ‘The Academy’ is a special challenge. Serving and leading during a period of transition in The Academy can be a daunting task.”

Adrignolo and Goodman, as campus faculty speakers, have led faculty through the development of a structural transition and to a new governance system. Adams added that just two days before the convocation, the Fairleigh Dickinson University Board of Trustees approved the creation of a reconstituted Academic Senate. “That landmark achievement involved the participation of many colleagues across our community. However, it was your service and leadership that provided consistent momentum toward the goal.”

October 2003

View text only for this complete issue.

Flor =
College at Florham, Madison, N.J.

Metro =
Metropolitan Campus, Teaneck, N.J.

Information Deadlines